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Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Oh oh... The gig is up. After nearly two years of going unnoticed, we've been caught. My dad found the blog. Go see for yourself, this is the comment he left

Anonymous said...

Accidently found this blog...... clearly somebody's been holding out on me

I guess I'm just yesterday's chopped liver (sorry, no foody pics...)

And who am I?... with a Giz and Grad in the family - I could only be known as:

Psycho-Giz-Grad's Dad

All along, we just let him (and other family members) believe that we were crazy people obsessed with taking pictures of food and now the truth is revealed: the obsession goes much deeper. Not only do we take pictures of food, we blog about food and participate in a community of food bloggers. Oh well -- my dad is a wierdo too, in his own right.

*********************************************Speaking of my dad...let me tell you about the reception he hosted for me and R...

Going to Winnipeg for a second reception is something R and I knew we had to do. R and I wanted a small ceremony and reception in Ottawa, so only closer family and friends were invited. I don't think anyone was too offended by it -- but a 2nd reception for extended family was probably the only way to prevent that.

The idea started out pretty basic...we would have a bbq at my dad's place. Then, this became unrealistic because a bbq would have to extend to both the house and backyard. This would, apparently, require a tent, catering, and a newly painted fence. (I don't know when we started trying to keep up with the Joneses)

Redoing the fence was the deal-breaker. So, the reception had to be held elsewhere. "Elsewhere" was pretty limited too because the meal had to be kosher. In Winnipeg, there are only a handful of places that serve kosher food.

So, what started out as a low-key bbq became a reception at the Hotel Fort Garry, one of the nicer hotels in the city.

From then on, I pretty much relinquished control and went where I was told.

Although the laws of kashrut created some limitations around food options, it was probably a mixed blessing. Any "bright ideas" Giz and I had about baking for the reception were impossible. So, that meant a repeat of the wedding cookie saga was out of the question.

Instead, we got some chocolate giveaways from Morden's, a family owned and operated chocolatier that is another one of those Winnipeg institutions.

Because the chocolate was not kosher, guests were asked to wait until they left to open up the giveaways. Our experience with Morden's was really positive -- they were able to complete our order with little notice and even accommodated a change to the order a day before pick up.

Sometimes kosher food has a reputation of being...so-so. I don't know why because when made well, the quality of kosher meat is often better that run of the mill grocery store meat.

I'd have to say that this meal didn't change my mind about kosher food. It was about par for the course. Not bad -- but no one dish would be something I'd add to my cooking repetoire (if I had made it at home).

The meal started with a mushroom and wild rice-type soup. It was pretty plain and could have used more mushrooms and wild rice within the broth.

On the way to the reception, I asked my dad and step-mom if there were any speeches planned (you may recall I had a "no speech" policy at my reception). My dad quickly said, "no" -- which was my first clue. Typically, when I ask my dad a question, I can expect a 5-10 second delay in getting a response (if he's paying attention). This time, there was less than a 2 second delay between the end of my question and his answer -- something was amiss.

Shortly after the evening started, I could see folders being passed around. There was one speech after the next and a "you must sing a song about love or tell a joke to get Psychgrad and R to kiss" rule. Turns out there was quite a bit of speech plotting without me knowing about it.

It was ok though...After consuming a couple of extra drinks than planned, all was good.

Back to the meal...

The salad had a sufficient amount of dressing, which was something the salad at the other reception lacked. But, it looked kind of sad on my plate.

The main course looked kind of sad too. The taste was ok, although the chicken was on the over-cooked side.

It did make me wonder when the last time this menu or plating was changed -- I'm guessing about 20 years ago.

The dessert was a cookie/scone (somewhere between the two) with sorbet. The sorbet was good, the scone wasn't great.

The decor my step-mom chose was nice -- tigerlilies.

It was nice to be able to spend time with more of my extended family. I think everything worked out well and no one has disowned me because of not being invited to a reception.

I had a glatt kosher wedding reception and the meal was unbelievably great.We had a pre-sitdown sushi buffet as well. The price was also quite high, of course, which is the downside. It's much easier to get a cheap yet good non-kosher meal.

Looks like a great reception! I can totally appreciate trying to be glatt kosher. I have a whole set-up in my basement for when my sister comes to town. I turn my pork-lovin' kitchen into a glatt kosher machine.

Oh sigh. Oh dear. Yeah. See when people ask Do and me why we aren't married yet, we invariably come up with a witty repartee about how it's just too overwhelming to try to deal with the kosher-extended-relatives thing. And you know, there's some truth to that... as foodies, it would just break our hearts to celebrate this grand event with mediocre, overpriced food. Sigh. I like your take: small wedding your way, with your food, larger less idiosyncratic kosher one later.

BTW, what favors did the kosher guests get? Since the chocolates weren't...?

Yes, her dad is a generous man, kind, handsome and witty too. He makes sure to keep me in plenty of Fancy Feast.

Now, let's correct a few bits of errata.

First of all, Morden's Chocolates are Kosher. They are under Western Kosher (WK) supervision.

What they also were, was dairy . And since the meal was meat and the meal was also under Rabbinic supervision (MBK), those present were asked to please take the treats home and enjoy them later.

If I had a toe-nail clipper for every wedding attendee who asked me "... who was that psycho taking multi-pictures of every piece of food at the wedding table....?" I'd never have to groom my paws again.

The secret shall remain safe with me and you, dear readers.

But seriously, why are all of you spending so much of your time reading about, writing and preparing endless recipes of food?

Wouldn't you all rather hear Psychgrad talk and blog about how she found poor old me and my brood under her front steps 16 years ago?

I tell you, it was terrible! I was so skinny that I resembled a Moray eel.

Oh, and Giz! your ex and his missus wish you belated birthday greeings...biz-120 and all that good stuff.

Since we refer to family members, here's a key to clarify who's who

R - Psychgrad's hubby. Is the cook responsible for many of the recipes but usually does not post himself (unless it is to complain about our food obsession or share a dish that he loves -- usually poutine).

E- Practicing her skills as ruler of the world (or her little brother, K).

K - Cool little bro -- biding his time until he's big enough to take down E.

BACFF

The members of BloggerAid-Changing the Face of Famine have published a cookbook where 100% of the proceeds target children and education through the World Food Programme called School Meals. Purchases can be made by clicking the cookbook cover above.